The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The civilian drone market is projected to surpass $1B in 2016 and may exceed $3.5B by 2024 (Business Insider). Increased use of drones by hobbyists has resulted in complaints from concerned citizens who increasingly are concerned with privacy consequences of areal/mobile camera platforms that drones provide. Not surprisingly, many city and county governments have begun to require drone operator registration programs and to create new laws aimed at controlling drone operators who fly their drones near populated areas and in airspace some feel should be off limits. For example, municipal airports are within range of a drone flying from a person's home or other private property. Still others are concerned that drone operation near industrial areas could pose a threat to safe operation of a manufacturing enterprise.
With increasing concern over drone operation in areas previously outside of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversight because of the inappropriateness and infeasibility of commercial aircraft operation in residential and industrial areas, there is a need to define conventions for drone operation for non-commercial and commercial use in populated areas. Innovation can often create a set of options and capabilities that better addresses citizen concerns than the alternative of using regulation.